Refrigerator



(No Model.)

7 4 Sheets-Shee t 1. 0. KUTSGHE. REFRIGERATOR.

No. 447,467. Patented Mar. 3,"1 891.

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4 SheetsSheet 4. O. KUTSOHE. REFRIGERATOR (NO Model.)

No. 447,46'7. Patented Mar. 3, 1891.

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OSlVALD KUTSOHE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATOR.

QPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 4417, 167, dated March 3, 1891. Application filed January 14, 1890. Serial No. 336,858. (No model.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, OSWALD KUTSCHE, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification.

M y invention relates to a refrigerator,which 1 preferably construct from sheets of galvanized iron, zinc, or other appropriate metals.

Features of my improvement relate to a refrigerator of the class described, having a cooling-chamber inclosed by a jacket or casing to provide a dead-air space; to an improved construction of the door and the frame to receive said door, both of which are formed in the same dies, so that they are the exact counterparts of each other, whereby accuracy of fit in the door is insured; to an improved construction of the racks for supporting the articles to be cooled, said racks being mounted upon a central rotatable shaft, whereby they are free to turn withsaid shaft to render the placing and removal of the articles conventhe cooling-chamber and from thence into the outer atmosphere when the door is opened; to an improved construction of drip-plate, whereby the water formed by the melting ice is caused to pass in a circuitous path over the drip-plate suspended within the refrigeratingspace, thereby absorbing and carrying off obnoxious vapors from the articles within said chamber or foul air therein, and to certain other features of construction hereinafter described.

To these ends my invent-ion consists in the devices and combinations of devices as hereinafter described, but particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the refrigerator complete, taken from the side in which the door is placed. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4: is a plan view with the cover, ice-rack,

and valve removed. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the valve.

In constructing the refrigerator I take by preference a sheet of metal and bend it into cylindrical form to provide the exterior casing or jacket A, and a second sheet, similarly treated, provides the inner casing or shells B. The latter has its upper-end offset, as at I), and then extended to form the overlapping flange b. lVithiu this offset space the flange of the cover 0 is seated, and from the offset portion I suspend the ice-receptacle formed by the shell D, which has its bottom perforated, as at (Z, for the passage of the cold air to the refrigerating-chamber E. The vertical wall of the shell D is alsov provided with the apertures (1' near its top, and through these apertures the warm air ascending from the chamber E will pass into the icechamber, and becoming cool will again doscend through the perforations in the bottom of said chamber. In order to prevent the escape of the cold air when the door is opened, I have provided a valve, as F, which will be adapted to seal the perforated bottom of the ice-chest against the passage of the cold air therethrough when the door is opened. This valve, as shown in the drawings, is a simple disk with a downturned flange,which is fitted over an annular flange f, surrounding the perforations in the bottom of the ice-chest and which flange is apertured at f This capvalve has a stem or spindle G, which is vertically movable and may be operated by a lever G, which will have an arm, as 6, adapted to be moved by the door in order to raise the stem G and with it the disk-valve F. As shown, the lever G has an upward, bend and is pivotally supported upon a wire g, its extension or arm being dropped so as to impinge against the rear side of the door when the latter is closed. Instead of this cap-valve, a slide-valve or a valve of any other suitable form may be employed.

The casings maybe mounted upon the base H, which, as shown, is stamped out of sheet metal, but may be cast from metal or made from wood. Abovethe base within the chamber E, I have secured a circular rack I, and on this rack or on the base is mounted a 1'0 rating post or standard J, bearing the circuof air between its edge and the frame.

secure this accurate tit, I have provided a lar racks K, any portion of which may be brought opposite the doorway by rotating them with the post. The racks, however, may be stationary.

L is a drip-plate having an upturned flange 1 and its body in the form of the frustum of a cone, the opening in its upper end being of substantially the width of the apertured portion of the bottom of the ice-chest and having on its upper side the spiral beads Z. Above the point where said spiral is generated a drip-pipe d from the ice-chest discharges, an d thereby the water produced from the melting ice falls on the drip-plate below and is conducted from the inner to the outer edge thereof by the beads Z, and finally discharged, as at 1*, into the waste-pipe M. The discharge-pipe M dips into the basin or cup N, and thereby forms a liquid seal against the passage of air upwardly through the pipe.

A prime requisite in refrigeratorsis to have a door which shall possess the same characteristics as the side walls-that is, it should be so constructed as to provide a dead-air space between its outer and its inner walls, and it must also be so made as to fit accurately the door-frame, so as to prevent the passage 'lo door of peculiar construction, and have also provided a door-frame the exact counterpart of the door, so as to secure a close fit between the two. The door is constructed from two plates, the outer one 0 being of the same coi'itiguration as the external wall of the refrigerator, while the inner plate 0 has its margin offset, preferably on an ogee or double ogee curve, so' as to increase the strength of the structure and also better prevent the passage of air. The margins of the plates 0 and 0' may be soldered or interlocked and the door will be provided with the necessary hinges and operating-handle and catch. The exterior casing and the wall of the cooling-chamber will be cut away to receive the door, and the space between said walls at their cutaway portion will be bridged by the frame-piece P, the outer margins of which will be secured upon the exterior of the outer casing and the inner margins will be secured in the openings of the inner casing. In order to secure perfect accuracy of fit, I form the plates 0 and P in dies of the same configuration. The curved form of the plates will be imparted by the press, and then by preference the parts will be placed together and subjected to the action of the drop-hammer to secure a perfect and accurate fit.

I provide a \vater-receptacle,wh ich is formed by the vessel Q, which isparti-circularin form and has its straight side placed against the straight side of the shell I). This water-receptacle has the cover It, and the faucet S serves to withdraw the water therefrom. I also provide the shelf '1 to support a drinking-cup.

It is obvious that some of the features of construction hereinabove described maybe used without the employment of all, but each so co-operates with the others as to provide a superior refrigerator, which can be manufactured at small cost and which will secure the maximum refrigerating eifect of the ice.

I prefer to make the refrigerator of circular form, as herein shown and described,because it is more cheaply constructed in this way, and also because the largest amount of cooling-space available from a given amount of material can thus be secured; butthe walls may be angular instead of circular.

I claim I. A refrigerator having the usual ice-chest and refrigerating-chamber, said ice-chest having perforations in its bottom for the passage of the cold air, a flange rising from the bot tom wall of said chamber exterior to said perforations and having apertures therein, and a valve normally suspended above said flange, and a pivoted arm, upon the inner end of which said valve is seated, and its outer end projected to engage the door of the refrigerator when closed and adapted to be lowered by the opening of the door, whereby to seal said passage, substantially as described.

A refrigerator having an ice-chest and refrigerating-chamber, said ice-chest having perforations in its bottom for the passage of the cold air, an annular flange encircling said perforations, apertures in said flange and a drip-aperture exterior to the flange, a vertically-adjustable cap-valve adapted to be lowered to seal the apertures in said flange, a drip'plate below said bottom, having a spiral conducting-channel in its body portion and a drip-pipe delivering at the inner end of said spiral channel, and an escape-pipe to which the outer end of said channel delivers, substantially as described.

OSWALD K l 'lSGll E.

'itnesses:

FREDERICK O. Goonwnv, (1). G. LINTHICUM. 

